Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Question of Life

Andrews Memorial Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Sabbath April 25, 2009

At a Sabbath School class conducted by Bro. Melvin Brown, the question was asked: What is Life?

I have just received my response.

To lack life is to lack responsiveness to G-d and his purpose or goal for you. TO lack life to fail to live up to G-d's expectations for you or to fail to live according the intent for which you were created.

The absence of life is to be active or inactivated that you are unable to accomplish your eternal purpose of having dominion over the resources of the earth.

And this is G-d's eternal purpose for you:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:27-29)


Embrace that purpose for it is the life to be lived!

Friday, April 24, 2009

SABBATHS and COVENANT

I read this morning the following ideas:

By observing the "sabbath," Israel confessed that they were God's redeemed people, subject to his lordship to obey the whole of his law. They were His stewards to show mercy with kindness and liberality to all.

- ("To Cease" Vines Complete Expository Dictionary p.33)



The Sabbath:

eschatological in perspective [looks] to the accomplishment of God's ultimate purpose through the redemption of His people to whom the "sabbath" was a covenant sign.

- ("To Cease" Vines Complete Expository Dictionary p.33)


On the basis of these readings, my soul pondered a few short thoughts and revelations that I want to share.

How is the Sabbath a covenant to the Christian?

Every time G-d completes a phase of a work, a rest period follows. After G-d completed the creation of the earth, the weekly sabbath followed as a period of rest and celebration for the cycle that G-d had completed. G-d therefore commemorated this seven day cycle with the weekly Sabbath.

With the salvation of humanity, the first aspect of the work was the completion of the Sacrifice of the Passover Lamb - Messiah JESUS or Yeshua. After that followed a sabbath, (which was actually the first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread and not the weekly Sabbath). On the night to be much observed, Messiah JESUS (Yeshua) established that his blood and body were the new covenant. Thus, G-d made a new covenant with Jews and Gentiles via the Passover marking the period of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This is why at the end of the Sabbath, we find a new phase of the work.

The next major work to be accomplished was the pouring of the Spirit of G-d into the hearts of humanity, to write G-d's laws on men's hearts and minds. This was accomplished by another annual Sabbath commemoration. The Feast of Pentecost followed, where the pouring of the Spirit took place and the people of G-d were empowered to be redeemed and expand the kingdom and liberality of G-d to all men.

There are other works that G-d must accomplish - Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. However, so far, the works that G-d have done for humanity's redemption so far, have all established covenant significance for us as Christians.

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread now represents the new covenant of the blood of Jesus poured out for us and his body given for us so that we may be forgiven of our sins by his substituted death. It thereby signals triumph over Death and the grave, and triumph over sin.

The Feast of Pentecost now represents the pouring of G-d Spirit - another sign and seal of his covenant that we have indeed been adopted as heirs and sons of G-d.

If these two feasts still have covenant significance to us, then why not a people, Christianity do not even commemorate these seasons using the G-d approved Calendar?

May the SHALOM of G-d be yours today as you read the words of my soul to yours.

Amen!



Work Cited:

Vine, W. E., Merrill F. Unger, and William White. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words: With Topical Index. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1996.

Monday, April 13, 2009

A pamphlet on The Lies in Christendom

I will be writing a pamphlet entitled "The Lies in Christendom". This pamphlet covers my own evolution as a Christian, where G-d gradually brought me to a place where I have tested all that I have been taught and have discovered many errors and distortions in Christian doctrine.

Yet, I have a duty not to keep the errors to myself, but through dialogue in love and concern to share with church leaders, pastors and others some of the lies that they have been told and believed.

As I begin this project, i will keep you posted. Below are some excerpts from my first draft of the first chapter:

Before the book begins, it is important first to define the term, "LIES". What is a lie? A lie is misrepresentation or distortion of truth. It is deception in all its form.



A lie is not error! Error comes when there is something unknown and one attempts to guess, postulate or make a judgement based on information given, but fails to precisely comprehend the unknown.



This distinction must be very clear. Because not all the times that pastors, priests or churches teach things that distort the truth. Sometimes they teach things that are erroneous, or a misunderstanding of reality or truth. A misunderstanding, misconception or misconstruing are not lies. These are only failures in human thinking to perceive truth.



Lies however involves knowledge of truth and reality, yet a deliberate attempt to misrepresent or distort that reality.



In order to support this idea of what lies are, let us go to the source of all truth. Many if not most Christians agree that the Bible is the source of truth. If you believe this, then we can trust that the Bible will be able to define what LIES are. If you do not believe this, then you will have to trust the dictionary's definition.



Yet, it is strange that people are willing to trust dictionaries and not the Bible. While both sources have been around for a long time, the Bible is much older and is a compilation of writings from men who have experiences times and lives that we have not. The dictionary also is a compilation of words, with a shorter history, done by men.



There are between the dictionary and the Bible. Both deal with the written Word/word. Words communicated throughout the ages. Both have been written with cultural perspectives and lens.



Personally, the author trust both the Bible and the dictionary as recorded sources of knowledge. One is of historical and spiritual knowledge and power, while the other is the source of communicative power.



Humanity's knowledge of the spiritual and of monotheism begins in the Bible. All major monotheistic religions embrace the first few books in the Bible. Though they have their own interpretations and additions, all monotheistic faiths believe in the Pentateuch and the laws thereof.



It is in the Pentateuch that we first as humanity find a definition of lie as being immoral.



In Genesis - we have as our record the first lie ever told. The perpetrator - a mysterious serpent. This serpent contradicted G-d by telling the first human pair that if they disobeyed G-d, they would not "surely die."



It is from this passage we learn the origin of death. Thus, clearly, there is a link between death and lies. The first LIE was the cause for humanity's loss of immortality.



Consequently, if we today believe lies, it too can cause us loss of immortality. If we today believe lies, it can cost us life. Thus lies are not to be trifled with.